We caught APP red-handed. What's next?

Deep in Indonesia’s tropical rainforests, you'll find a kind of tranquil atmosphere like no other. The place is more or less untouched by humankind. And then, just a short distance away, the blackened roots of peatland forest still smolder from where they have been burned to a cinder. It really feels like a journey from heaven deep into hell.

Yang Jie, a Greenpeace activist leading the forest conservation project.

Hello. My name is Yang Jie and I am with Greenpeace’s Forests campaign. It saddens me every time I think about how Indonesia’s paradise forests are being bulldozed to destruction, and how that is pushing the Sumatran tigers to extinction. (Read: Endangered Sumatran tiger dies in trap on APP concession in Indonesia) But it also makes me more determined to do everything I can in my power to save one of our planet’s last remaining green havens.

We carefully strategize our campaigns and saving the rainforest is no exception. For example, after our latest undercover investigation into APP, one of the world’s largest pulp and paper groups, which took a year, we released a shocking report, The Ramin Paper Trail, documenting how APP was illegally pulping a highly endangered tree species, ramin. After the report, we are keeping the campaign momentum going with these five follow-up steps.

1. Push companies to change!

This is our most important follow-up work. Every company relies on its customers and clients for survival. A single customer or client may only have a small amount of power, but added together, en masse, that power becomes a force to be reckoned with and can push big corporations to become environmentally friendly. Just like The Ramin Paper Trail attracted huge public interest, and in just two short months several key APP customers, even a subsidiary of APP itself, cut their ties with APP.

To really protect the rainforest we need the Indonesian government to take concrete action. That’s why we present our carefully-collected evidence to government bodies, global regulatory organizations, and the international media to push for tighter supervision of forest management.

We couldn’t do any of this without you, that’s why your generous gift is invaluable to protecting the rainforests. We sincerely hope we will have your support in the years to come so we can win this victory for Indonesia’s beautiful forests and the Sumatran tiger whose very survival depends on them. Thank you!